Halting at least temporarily a downward spiral, the Falcons ended their five-game losing streak and moved within a game of first place in the NFC South with a 27-17 come-from-behind victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.
The win, coupled with the Saints’ 27-24 overtime loss to San Francisco, has further muddled the meek NFC South race.
“We also know that with the way the division is shaking out, we’re right in the mix,” said quarterback Matt Ryan after the Falcons improved to 3-6. “We’ve got a long road in front of us. Seven games to go, but we have to try and knock them off one at a time.”
The Saints dropped to 4-5. Carolina (3-4-1) plays Philadelphia on Monday Night Football. Tampa Bay dropped to 1-8.
Ryan guided the Falcons on a clutch fourth-quarter drive and the defense came up with a key sack and interception to help stomp out Tampa Bay’s attempted rally.
“Joy,” Ryan said when asked to describe the feeling after the victory.
Ryan completed 20 of 31 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown. Running back Steven Jackson rushed 16 times for a season-high 81 yards and the defense came up with four sacks.
The Falcons last victory came over Tampa Bay in a 56-14 plastering on Sept. 18. The victory also broke up a nasty 1-11 streak in games played out of town and also represented the Falcons’ first win in an outdoor stadium in nearly 102 weeks.
“It’s been too long since we won a game,” Ryan said. “It’s always better when you come out on the right end.”
After the Bucs took a 17-16 lead in the fourth quarter, it appeared as if the Falcons were ready to blow another lead and lose their sixth straight game. Ryan knew the Falcons needed to respond.
On first down, he hit wide receiver hit Julio Jones for a 20-yard gain to get the vital drive started. The Falcons, who converted on a third down-and-10 from Tampa Bay’s 31, maneuvered down to the Bucs’ 16.
On third down-and-11, a pass for Harry Douglas was incomplete, but on the other side of the field, Bucs defensive back Johnthan Banks was called for a hands to the face penalty against reserve receiver Eric Weems.
The bone-headed penalty gave the Falcons a first down and two plays later, Ryan tossed a 5-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Roddy White with 9:18 left to put the Falcons ahead for good.
“Our playmakers made plays when they were presented to them for the most part,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said.
Douglas’ nice grab on the two-point conversion to make it 24-17.
“It was a strong catch,” Ryan said. “When you’re in the tight red zone and you obviously have a two-point conversion play, there’s going to be some tight coverage. I tried to put it in a spot where he could make a strong catch and he did it.”
The drive saved what hopes the Falcons retain for saving their season.
“It was a response drive,” Ryan said. “We’re going out there and running the football effectively and throwing the football effectively and then ultimately being opportunistic and being able to punch that in.
“Those are the drives that you have to make in order to win football games. It was a good step for us in the right direction.”
The Bucs had plenty of time and the Falcons’ defense just recently kicked away a 21-point lead in their last game against Detroit in London. But this time, the unit stood up.
The Falcons defense came up with a stop as defensive end Osi Umenyiora sacked Tampa Bay quarterback Josh McCown on third down with 8:05 left.
On the next possession, kicker Matt Bryant added a 33-yard field goal to put the Falcons up by 10 with 4:10 remaining.
Summoning one last assault, Josh McCown drove the Bucs down to Atlanta’s 4-yard and were threatening to score before Falcons safety Dwight Lowery intercepted a pass in the end zone with 1:49 to play.
“(Robert Alford) made a great play,” Lowery said. “Without him being in position and knocking the ball out, that play doesn’t happen. It’s was just then a matter of not giving up on the play.”
The Falcons did a solid job against the run (92 yards allowed) and were able to mount some pressure against McCown, finishing with a season-high four sacks and 11 quarterback hits.
“I’m just going to keep trying my best to help this team,” Umenyiora said.”It felt good (to get the sack a crucial moment.)”
Smith was pleased with the victory.
“I felt like today, we played good football in all three phases,” Smith said. “We were able to finish. That’s something that we have not been able to do.”
